Cosplay Is Not Consent: The People Fighting Sexual Harassment at Comic Con

“I had to physically stop two people from putting hands on me," said Alana Leilani. Dressed as Lady Rainicorn from Adventure Time, she described one of many harassments she experienced at last year's New York Comic Con.

“One stopped after I pushed him away; the other asked permission to put his head in my cleavage, and I said no ... He went to take a picture and did it anyway, so I punched him," she said. People believe they have a right to your body.

"[We] knew this was an issue that sadly that seemed to be growing and not declining,” said Lance Fensterman, Global SVP for ReedPop, show organizer for NYCC.

Partly, the issue is the characters themselves. Many of the revealing costumes are based off characters who were originally designed, at least in part, to be sexually provocative, for example, princesses, superheroes in spandex and sexualized anime school girls. As a result, many onlookers view them as the sexy characters they emulate rather than individuals wearing costumes, who should be treated with respect.

But most real-life cosplayers are more concerned with the authenticity of the costume than sexual attention.

Image: Mashable Andrea Romano

Upon entering the convention center this year, attendees encountered a large sign, with big, bold letters reading, “Cosplay is Not Consent." An extensive anti-harassment policy appeared on the other side. To NYCC's credit, additional signs were posted throughout the rest of the convention center, too.

Cosplayers noticed.

Image: Andrea Romano/Associated Press

“I think it’s a brilliant idea," said Kelly Lester, dressed in a bright red Scarlet Witch costume. "Some of these characters are very sexualized. You want to portray them correctly. You don’t want to cover yourself completely up ... but at the same time, you just feel really exposed.”

Even artists are pushing for new character interpretations.

"I almost wish artists would design better costumes in the first place," said Amy Reeder, who designed NYCC's anti-harassment signs and is also a professional comic book artist for several titles, including Supergirl and Xanadu. Even with Supergirl's costume, Reeder said, "I just wished so much that wasn't just a cheerleading costume."

As more women gain prominent, creative roles in sci-fi, fantasy and especially comics, female characters start to look less provocative. Fans, especially of the cosplaying variety, feel that female portrayals are moving in a positive direction.

NYCC attendees admired the female characters who were doing the rescuing, describing them as strong, capable role models. They're more concerned about the stories behind the characters — “she’s a badass,” they'd say.

“My favorite character in the history of creation has to be Ursula the Sea Witch," sais Tom Catt, who was playing Poison Ivy. "She’s fabulous, she’s ferocious, she’s over-the-top, she’s theatrical … Every time I dress up as Ursula, I get a big sense of pride."

Harassment and stereotyping isn’t limited to women in provocative outfits. Male cosplayers talked about being bullied for not fitting a certain costume correctly.

Those who dressed as characters of the opposite sex (known as crossplay) often admitted to hearing derogatory comments or being put down, as did those who went as character of a different race or body type.

Image: Mashable Andrea Romano

"Sometimes men want to cosplay as a female character, and if they do it, they either take it as a joke or they’re harassed," said Michael Colon, a cosplayer dressed as Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat.

But mainly, cosplayers have a mutual respect and admiration for those who put a great amount of love and emotional investment into their costumes. It's why they're especially troubled when onlookers reduce it to sexual innuendo, or worse.

From what I gathered, the harassment rarely seems to come from within the cosplaying community itself.

In trying to understand what went wrong last year, Fensterman pointed out that 40% of the 2013 New York Comic Con attendees had never been before — of which, 15% had never been to a convention at all.

"As the show grows, I almost wonder if it’s an education process,” he said.

"I don’t think it’s exclusive to cosplay … There’s harassment when a woman is just wearing a crop top on the street,” said Ashley D., who was dressed as Arale-chan from the manga Doctor Slump.

But the convention is removed from reality and that's part of the whole point. Cosplayers attend events like NYCC to build a sense of community in a place where their passions and their joy can be appreciated. It's a fantasy world, where people can dress as their favorite characters — no matter how exposed — and feel safe and supported.

“It makes me sad that you have to tell people, 'Don’t sexually harass another individual,'” said Claudia M., dressed as Connor from the video game Assassin’s Creed. “We’re all here to do the one thing we love, which is just geek out together.”

Image: Mashable Andrea Romano

This year's convention brought in 151,000 attendees throughout the weekend. There were eight reported incidents of sexual harassment. NYCC's support is a start, but stopping sexual harassment begins and ends with the people on the show floor.

“I will do whatever I can to make sure that they are taken away from the situation," said Tom Catt. "There is a big, wide, beautiful community of people who are willing to accept you."

Update: According to Lance Fensterman, there were around 20 instances of sexual harassment reported at NYCC last year, in 2013.

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